


Soft Purr

by aoiichii



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crime Investigator AU, Keith is a kitty, Kitty Shifter AU, M/M, more tags to come, special agents I guess?, the others are investigators
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2016-10-13
Packaged: 2018-08-10 17:37:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7854661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aoiichii/pseuds/aoiichii
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shiro and his team are always flying all over the country to help solve difficult crimes to throw criminals behind bars. When he picks up a hurt kitten one night, Shiro did not expect that decision to cause more difficulties than his job already gave him. </p><p>Was supposed to be a cute fluffy story about kitty shifter Keith and a domestic life with Shiro. Suddenly has a plot and possibly angst.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Little Keith

**Author's Note:**

> Sheith Skype chat likes throwing around cute headcanons. This was supposed to be a cute fluffy story.
> 
> A plot spawned instead.
> 
> I'm sure I'll pack as much fluff into this as I can regardless of the angst, haha.

Being the last one to leave the office wasn’t so bad. Or at least Shiro often told himself that as he locked up some nights. It was quiet, without the bustle of people moving around each other and crowding the sidewalks. He could relax in that time, without the immediate worries of a new case hanging over his head. Sometimes the relief over a quiet night gave way to pangs of guilt. Crime never stopped after all, but he and his team could only solve so many. For every person they helped, he had to believe that that was at least one more person happier in the world and one more criminal put away or gone from the streets.

His steps were quick upon the sidewalk, his thoughts and the rare passing car his only companions. It would be nice to get home and wash away the day’s grime. Shiro didn’t look forward to trying to sleep anymore, but at least the thought of a nice hot shower brought some comfort. It had been a long week, and just being back home would be a nice change from the hotels they had been jumping from in the back to back cases the team had been dealing with. Ah, but he wasn’t supposed to think about those. Allura had expressly told him to rest and that she’d handle the reports. In so many words, she had basically banned him from overthinking the last week.

The trip from the office back home wasn’t too bad. It was mainly one long bus ride if he had opted not to drive to work that day. From the bus stop, the quickest way to his doorstep was to cut through an alley between two apartment buildings. It was a dark alley, dimly lit by an orange light from above one of the apartment’s side doors. Puddles of rainwater and garbage littered the small path, Shiro didn’t like to linger there. He usually passed quickly through the area, not wanting the smell to cling to his shoes or clothes. If he’d continued as he usually had, he probably would have missed the small injured animal.

As it were, a sudden car alarm being set off startled the cat that had been hiding amidst a pile of garbage bags. The dark furred creature toppled out of the refuse, hackles momentarily raised and eyes glinting up at Shiro in what the man could only call a feral manner, before it collapsed into one of the puddles, its entire body going limp.

Shiro stared down at the pitiable creature, sympathy for the small animal making his chest throb at how sad the sight was. He shouldn’t. He didn’t know what kind of diseases it could have. It had certainly seemed wild enough in that short moment of confrontation. It could attack him and then his team would worry if he contracted something. Well, they’d worry if he showed up to work hurt regardless.

In the end, his kind nature won out and he stooped, ignoring the way his long coat dragged along the floor and scooped the cat into his good arm, bundling his coat closer when he felt the tiny thing shivering. It was too dark here to get a good look at it and he hurried out from the alley, the quicker he got inside the better.

Coat and shoes abandoned in a haphazard pile in the doorway, Shiro brought the cat into the kitchen, setting it on top of a hand towel and reaching across to turn on the counter lights for a brighter light to examine the animal under. In the dim alley, Shiro had just assumed that the creature was malnourished and that was why it had collapsed and also been so light in his hold. He could now see that blood matted the animal’s fur, a long gash ran along its side and one paw was split open, grit clinging to the angry red wounds. There was a cut through one ear and the shivering hadn’t settled down any either.

Gingerly turning the cat around with one hand, Shiro was able to gather that the cat was a male...and also that he was more a kitten than a cat. Pushing the animal’s lips back to check his teeth showed that he had larger incisors, but the rest of his teeth appeared to be baby teeth. There had also been a thin silver chain with a tag wrapped around the kitten’s neck that Shiro had removed. It had been too dirty to read. Shiro was no vet, but even he could tell that the kitten didn’t have a very good chance of survival at the moment. Pressing his lips into a thin line, Shiro rolled his shirtsleeves up. He’d give this kitten the best chance he could and then take him to a vet first thing in the morning. He’d have to call in to let Allura and the rest know he’d be into work late.

Trying to clean the kitten’s wounds turned out to be a lot more difficult than Shiro had anticipated. After he’d filled the kitchen sink with warm soapy water, he’d tried to lower the kitten’s back legs into it so that he could clean him, the kitten’s eyes had opened and he’d tried to bite the hand that Shiro was holding him with. Fortunately for Shiro, that meant the kitten had tried to bite his prosthetic. The kitten’s small teeth only slipped off of the metal hand, leaving no damage behind. Seeing that his bite was doing no damage, the kitten had taken to struggling, waving his small paws around, claws extended, trying to claw out of Shiro’s grasp.

“Hey, calm down. I’m only trying to help,” Shiro said softly, trying to make his tone soothing. The kitten’s ears twitched at his words before pressing back and the kitten hissed, the struggling that had paused when he had reacted to Shiro’s words returning with even more vigor.

“Hey, hey. Come on. I’m not going to hurt you, I just want to get these cleaned up.”

The kitten’s head jerked up and Shiro found violet eyes narrowed into a firey glare directed at him. It wasn’t the expression that made him pause, but the eyes. He’d never heard of cats with such vibrant violet eyes before. Pulling himself from his daze, he offered the kitten a gentle smile and lifted him from the water, setting him back down on the hand towel.

“How about we try again?”

The kitten settled into a defensive pose, ears pressed close to his skull, his tail twitching agitatedly.

“I’m Shiro.”

Blink. The kitten’s head tilted to the side, ears slowly rising and his defensive posture slowly relaxing. He seemed to be listening to Shiro’s words.

“I promise you can leave if you want after, but let me at least clean your wounds? They’ll only get worse if you leave them as is.”

There was a contemplative look in those violet eyes. Shiro was starting to wonder if he was just going delusional from lack of sleep. He was talking to a kitten and actually thinking that he was listening and reacting to his words. Before that train of thought could continue, the kitten let out a soft meow. Raising an eyebrow, Shiro reached out with his prosthetic once again, gently gathering the kitten up and lowering him into the water. He looked uncomfortable in the water, but he didn’t put up anymore protests, standing or sitting docilely as Shiro washed him with another hand towel.

It took two changes of water before it ran clear.

With the cleaning done, Shiro saw just how small the kitten truly was. His wet fur clung to his body, accenting how sickly thin the kitten was. Frowning, Shiro pat the kitten as dry as possible before retrieving a hair drying and using the lowest setting. The good news was that the wounds were no longer bleeding and they were looking much better after being cleaned. Shiro wrapped bandages around the gash in the kitten’s side and his paw. He hoped he was doing this correctly. The kitten had been silent throughout it all so Shiro couldn’t really tell if anything was wrong. He wanted to feed the baby but...what was safe for the kitten to eat? Picking up the kitten, once more wrapped in a fluffy towel to keep him warm, Shiro cradled him.

“I’m sorry baby. Just wait until tomorrow and I’ll get you some food. I’ll get you to a doctor and get you everything you need to get better.”

Shiro was cooing at the kitten without realizing it. Just the hours he had spent taking care of him thus far had made him rather attached to the animal. The kitten blinked at him, his injured paw curled close to his little chest. Then he meowed again. The same small sound as before. It was enough to make Shiro smile.

“I won’t abandon you for as long as you need me, promise.”

The silver tag that had been around the kitten’s neck glinted on the kitchen counter, Shiro having cleaned it after fixing up the kitten. A name was the only thing scratched into the tag.

_Keith._


	2. Adapting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Were kitten's supposed to give you near heart attacks when visiting the vet?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaah, I'm so glad you guys are enjoying this so farr~ 
> 
> This chapter and the next one are going to be mainly fluff, to establish Shiro and Keith's lives as Keith is recovering.

During the visit to the vet early the next morning, Shiro was sure his heart had almost stopped a few times. He understood that Keith’s (he figured the name scratched onto the tag was the kitten’s; when he’d called the name the kitten had turned his attention to Shiro) health had been in a bad way when he’d found him last night, but to have the vet actually suggest putting him to sleep because he was a stray and the costs to take care of him might not be worth it if he didn’t survive past the end of the week made Shiro immediately swipe Keith from the examination table and cradle him protectively.

A series of apologies followed in which the vet assured Shiro that she would not administer the shot if Shiro was so against it. The next moment that caused Shiro a scare was when he’d turned away with the vet to look over a meal plan and medication schedule and had heard a _fwump_ . Turning back around quickly, he discovered that Keith had actually managed to _fall off the table._ Thankfully the kitten wasn’t hurt any more than he already was, just waving his limbs absently in the air before wobbling onto his paws and shaking himself off.

Shiro decided to just carry Keith in the crook of one arm for the rest of the visit. This seemed to suit the kitten fine as he nuzzled into Shiro’s arm and promptly fell asleep.

As he paid for the visit and medications, the vet commented on how strangely docile Keith was when Shiro held him. It certainly was a one eighty from Keith’s attitude when Shiro had first brought him in. The kitten had refused to let either the vet or the aide touch him and Shiro had to step in. But once Shiro had rested his hand on the kitten’s head and asked him to behave, Keith had flicked his tail and seemed to frown before obediently letting himself be examined. Shiro must have made a _really_ good impression on the kitten.

By the time the checkup was over and he’d picked up the recommended foods for Keith, Shiro had no time to drop everything off home first and ended up driving to work with Keith in tow. As he entered the elevator, one arm cradling Keith and the other juggling an assortment of bags, Shiro tried to remember if anyone on the team had ever expressed an aversion to felines. Well, the elevator dinged and smoothly rolled to a stop on his floor, he was about to find out.

“Hey guys, I brought lunch.”

There was a collective sigh of relief and a groaned out “thank god” that followed Shiro’s greeting. His friends and coworkers were all bent over their desks, piles of paperwork waiting to be looked over or completed. From where he stood, Shiro could see there was a pile sitting upon his own desktop as well.

“Did a new case come in?”

“Guess again,” Pidge muttered as he passed her work station, typing furiously. Her hair was even messier than normal, as if she had given up running her hands through her strands and just started pulling on them randomly in agitation. Shiro’s eyebrows rose and he looked to Allura for an explanation.

“I received a call from the higher ups shortly after you phoned in,” she started, picking her gaze up to narrow her eyes in a certain direction momentarily before dropping her eyes back to her work. “ _Someone_ has not been turning in their paperwork on time.”

Lance’s cry of apology was hard to miss.

“So now we’re trying to catch up.”

“All of this?”

“Hunk was a saint and pulled out the necessary reference files for us. There are a couple older cases. I don’t know how both of us missed Lance’s missing reports.” Allura finished the sentence she was writing and finally looked up to Shiro.

“What happened this morning that you nee- is that a cat?”

The simultaneous pause in all movement from the rest of the room was rather eerie, Shiro decided. Keith chose that moment to wake from the slumber he’d fallen into on the way up and picked up his head, blinking sleepily. His violet eyes quietly took in the new environment and peered curiously at Allura, the only person in his line of sight, before attempting to burrow closer to Shiro, he wasn’t taking well to the unwanted attention.

“I know I said you needed to relax...but I didn’t mean to go and adopt a cat.” Allura seemed baffled by the animal, trying to understand how her words the previous night could have convinced Shiro to adopt a pet.

“He’s kinda a runt isn’t he?”

Lance had abandoned his work and approached to get a better look at Shiro’s companion. Keith didn’t take well to the comment and his ears flicked back as he hissed in Lance’s direction, swiping a claw at his nose. Hunk’s decision to pull Lance back by his sweater was greatly appreciated.

“Don’t insult the little guy Lance, he’d probably take out your eye. And he’s not a runt, look at his ears, he’s probably more like a kitten still.”

Hunk’s face replaced Lance’s in Keith’s space. Shro could only laugh at the antics his friends got to. At least they all seemed to have taken a liking to Keith in their own way.

“Considering the bags Shiro’s carrying that _isn’t_ lunch, I’d say it’s highly probable that he picked up the kitten off the street instead of going and adopting one. And that he’d taken him to the vet this morning, hence why he was late.” Pidge fixed her glasses, pushing them back up the bridge of her nose.

The next laugh that came from Shiro was a lot more guilty sounding and less full of mirth. Leave it to Pidge to point out the things Shiro had planned on skipping over.

“Shiro! Picking up a stray does not equal relaxing!” Allura had stood up now and marched over to stand in front of the man, arms crossed and fingers tapping atop her elbows.

“Cut me some slack Allura, Keith was dying. I couldn’t just leave him out there. I mean, how can you say no to this face?”

Shiro set his many bags down to properly hold Keith up so that he was facing Allura and not glaring in Lance’s direction anymore. The glare fell away, but Keith’s expression remained sullen. He was a rather expressive kitten wasn’t he.

Instead of focusing on the kitten’s face, Allura’s gaze fell upon the gauze wrapped around Keith’s wounds. The vet had had to undo Shiro’s work to inspect the damage. She had stitched up the gash in his side and ear, and then covered them back up in fresh bandages, also rewrapping Keith’s split paw.

Allura couldn’t see the extent of the injuries, but her heart panged for the kitten. If she could feel sorrow for this animal, than it was honestly expected that Shiro would have picked him up to bring home. He had a soft spot for those that needed his help. It was why he had the job he did. The job they all had and really needed to go back to doing.

“Very well than.” With that said, Allura clapped her hands in quick succession to get everyone’s attention.

“Get back to work! We’ll break for lunch in twenty! We have to get all these done before the day is out!”

Pidge returned to her desk with a resigned sigh. Lance went, grumbling about how Keith was a weird name for a cat. Hunk followed him, countering that people named their dogs with “human” names too. Allura turned her attention back to Shiro and motioned to his desk.

“You’re also included in this Shiro.”

“Yea, I didn’t think I’d be able to get out of it, cute kitten in tow or not, haha.”

After shuffling his bags around and dropping off the lunch bags in the break room, putting Keith’s things in the fridge, Shiro sat down at his desk to get to work, clearing an area for Keith to lay down on if he wished. The kitten seemed intent on sniffing around the papers that littered the desktop, so Shiro left him to it, flipping folders open and closed as he penned out reports. Paperwork was a necessary evil unfortunately.

Left to his own devices, Keith gingerly padded around on Shiro’s desktop, sticking his nose into piles of paper and moving things around by bumping them with his head. He was very conscientious about the space on the top of the desk though, and made sure to keep to only the areas that weren’t occupied by the documents Shiro was using. He seemed to stare longer at some papers than others, and if he didn’t know better, Shiro would have thought he was reading the documents. A few minutes of exploring later, Keith had returned to the cleared out spot and curled up for a nap.

For a stray that had been quick to threaten him upon their first meeting, Keith was a lot more tame that Shiro had expected. He finished the page he’d been writing as Allura got up from her seat. The others took this as the cue for their lunch break and there was a quick dash for the food that Shiro had brought in. Laughing, Shiro shook his head. He reached out his hand and ran a few fingers over Keith’s fur.

“Hey baby, time to wake up. You’re hungry aren’t you?”

It took a couple seconds more of prodding before the kitten’s eyes opened and he bit down on one of the fingers poking his side. This made Shiro laugh once more as he got up, picking Keith up and bringing him over to join the others.

“I’m not food, but let’s see what’s in that bag that I bought for you.”


	3. Moving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kittens are nice companions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was wrong, this chapter wasn't all fluff. But! The plot is moving forward!

Getting home that night was a lot better than it had been yesterday. Keith had hopped from Shiro’s arms and started nosing around, exploring. They had left the office on time for once, Lance volunteering to lock up as an apology for his slight. Shiro went to the kitchen to put Keith’s things away, setting the hardly used cone on the countertop.

He knew that Keith should have still been wearing the thing, but shortly after they had left the vet’s, the kitten had started writhing around to get it off, smacking the cone repeatedly with both paws, and letting loose irritated mewls. Shiro was worried the cone would cause Keith to hurt himself more than it was helping him. Promptly after it had been removed, Keith settled down.

Shiro had never had a cat before, but he didn’t think Keith acted like kittens normally would. Leaning back against the counter and watching Keith scrutinize the bookcase, Shiro rubbed absently at the elbow of his prosthetic. He should probably get started on making dinner, it was relatively early in the night, maybe he could do some reading or watch a movie before attempting to sleep.

As he was pulling ingredients from the fridge to make a simple meal for himself, his thoughts drifted back to work. The last two days had been uneventful in terms of cases, but Shiro understood that to be more on Coran’s call than on them not getting any jobs. The older man may have been quite eccentric, but he made sure to give his team a day or two of reprieve if there wasn’t anything that came up demanding their immediate action. Which meant that Shiro could expect to see their newest assignment sitting on his desk early the next morning.

Or right now.

Letting the fridge door swing shut on its own, Shiro tugged his ringing cellphone from his pocket. Speak, or in this case think, of the devil and he shall appear.

“Hello Coran. Is something wrong?”

“Shiro! We’re coming over right now to discuss an urgent case!” Coran’s voice was loud in the quiet of Shiro’s home, from the corner of his eye Shiro could see that Keith was looking up at his phone now.

“Of course. Should I order take out for the team?”

“No need, I’m bringing some homemade food! …Hunk said that he’ll be bringing food as well.” To repeat Allura’s earlier words, Hunk really was a saint.

“Alright, we can use the dining room then.”

There was a tugging on his pant leg, looking down Shiro saw that Keith had padded over to get his attention. Raising an eyebrow, Shiro silently watched, half listening to Coran rambling on about how his cooking was just as good as Hunk’s, as Keith moved back to the bookcase, a slight limp in his steps. He sat down in the same spot as before and pawed at one of the books on the low shelf. When glancing back had showed that Shiro hadn’t followed him, Keith rested his paw against the book and meowed.

“I’ll talk to you in a few Coran,” Shiro interrupted the man and hung up. He crossed to where Keith was and joined him on the floor. Keith retracted his paw and watched Shiro with bright eyes. It was a little...unnerving. Something about that color tugged at Shiro’s memory.  With another prompting meow from Keith, Shiro finally pulled out the book that the kitten had been so intent on seeing.

It was an astronomy book, from Shiro’s younger years when he’d dreamt of being an astronomer or an astronaut. He flipped it open and set it on the floor, amused as Keith leaned over the book, his eyes darting around. They still had a few minutes to themselves, gathering the book back into his hands and shifting Keith into his lap, Shiro began to read aloud. Keith settled himself in Shiro’s lap and stared at the pages, reaching out a paw to stop Shiro from turning the page or meowing when he couldn’t see the pictures properly.

When his doorbell rang, Shiro left the book open to a pull out star chart for Keith to nose around as he let his team into the house.

“I’m sorry about the intrusion Shiro, but Coran said it couldn’t wait,” Allura apologized as soon as she was through the front door. Shiro assured her it was alright as everyone else filed past the two of them.

There was a sudden cry of amusement from Lance, “Oh my god he’ll look like a satellite with this on!”

A hiss followed those words and then Hunk and Pidge were shouting.

“Oh no.”

Shiro and Allura entered the living room to find Lance chasing Keith around with Keith’s cone in hand. The others were being forced to dart out of the way or risk being barrelled over. Pidge had the foresight to pick up the astronomy book and was holding it to her chest as she dodged being whacked on the head by one of Lance’s flailing limbs.

“Lance stop! You’ll aggravate his injuries!” Shiro yelled before throwing himself into the middle of the chase, using his own body to stop Lance. Having his lanky coworker run into him full force was painful. Lance ricocheted off Shiro’s chest, the top of his head connecting with Shiro’s chin, before landing on the floor with a grunt. Shiro was forced back a few steps and winced as he rubbed at his jaw. Keith curled himself around one of Shiro’s legs, blinking at Lance before peering up at Shiro, one small paw batting at his pant leg, as if asking if the man was alright.

“So he did have a cone. I didn’t think the vet would have let an animal that was hurt as badly as your Keith is out without one. Shiro why did you take it off?” Allura’s tone was disapproving as she bent to pick up the fallen cone.

“He was going to hurt himself more with  it on. He stopped fussing when I took it off.” As if to backup Shiro’s words, Keith calmly stared up at Allura, trusting that she wouldn’t try to swoop down upon him with the ridiculous cone like Lance had. Allura turned her attention to Pidge, pursing her lips.

“Logically speaking, pets are made to wear cones to prevent them from licking or biting at their wounds. Cats have especially rough tongues which can slow the healing process because they break the healing tissue...if Keith hasn’t been touching his wounds then there shouldn’t be a problem,” Pidge paused to fix her glasses and set the astronomy book down on the coffee table. “The worst that can happen is a second trip to the vet to get the wounds resewn, hair loss in that area, and a scar that will last for life.”

Shiro was now giving Keith wary glances, and, probably sensing Shiro’s apprehension after hearing what Pidge had said, Keith stepped away, sitting on his hind legs and pawing at Pidge’s pants instead. “He seems like a smart cat,” Pidge commented before picking Keith up and heading towards the dining room, leaving Shiro to gape at her back. Allura had to cover her laugh with a short cough before patting Shiro’s shoulder, “If you aren’t careful, Keith might pick a new favorite.”

* * *

 

Two hours later, food was half-eaten and gone completely cold as the team poured their attention into the files that littered the table. Shiro leaned back and ran a hand through his fringe, exhaustion tugging at his mind. Child abduction cases were among the hardest hitting. Any case involving children was terrible.They were the ones that should have been protected the most, kept out of harm's way, and not made targets of by criminals.

“So we’ve established that our unsub targets children between the ages of nine and twelve. And that they have been at this for a while now,” Lance spoke up, tossing the folder he held back with the other folders. “How haven’t we caught wind of this freak until now?”

A few seats over, Coran set down the file he’d been reading as well with a heavy sigh, “Missing children reports come into precincts all the time. They’re given priority and searches last for days, weeks, months, until the trail goes cold. This unsub…” He ran a hand over his face, his expression was haunted. “They’re clever, they strike in different states. No more than two children a town. A boy and a girl every time.”

“But they got bored.” Hunk cut into the conversation. His face looked pale, but that was to be expected. Hunk was the most empathetic of the group, he was always hit the hardest when it was a case involving children. “Started leaving notes in the last spots the children were seen in. _Taunts_. They’re getting cocky.”

“And that’s what’s going to help us find them.” Allura spoke up then, her elbows propped on the tabletop, fingers steepled. “The unsub is confident in their abilities, too confident. They think that they’re invincible. But we know they aren’t.”

“We might have to change unsub to unsubs.”

Silence followed Pidge’s words and tired eyes turned in her direction. She’d been typing away diligently on her laptop and looked up as she turned the screen to them all. “I’ve compiled a list of all the abducted children and which towns they were taken from. From there I looked for similar occurrences in the past, since the unsubs must have started a while back, it couldn’t have been a new thing for them to be able to kidnap kids so cleanly and without making any mistakes. The timeline spans back at least a lifetime ago. Whoever is doing this...they’re well trained. They didn’t leave evidence just because they got bored. They want something from us.”

“They won’t be easy to find…” Shiro murmured, his sight blurring as he skimmed the list of names.

There were so many.

Too many.

“We should get these locations marked on a map and see if we can narrow down where the unsubs could be located. Pidge print out this list.”

“On it.”

Shiro rubbed his forehead, headache pounding. This was no time to start feeling sick, they needed to sort this information out. Allura caught his motion and frowned, standing up and closing the files open in front of her with a sense of finality.

“No. We’re done for tonight. It’s almost four in the morning. We all need to get some rest.”

“Bu-!”

“No buts. None of us are thinking clearly. It’ll do us better to get some rest before continuing with this case. It’ll still be here when we get up.”

There was no arguing with Allura when she was like this. And she was also the superior officer, Shiro might have been her second in command, but even he had to defer to her decisions when they were sound.

Watching Lance get up and stretch, Hunk wobbling from his seat, and Coran running a hand through his hair, Shiro realized just how exhausted he himself felt. Pidge returned from retrieving the printed list and set the papers down on the table, rubbing at her eyes and throwing her glasses askew.

“Why don’t you all stay here for the night. I’m sure I have some of your spare clothes hanging around. And there’s plenty of room.” Shiro offered up his home to his team, his friends, without a second thought. They sometimes stayed over by themselves or in pairs, so there was a drawer in Shiro’s room that contained clothes that had been left behind. He never questioned it and they never asked for them, it was a universal thing that they just understood. Sooner or later they would end up at Shiro’s home again.

* * *

 

Fitful hours of sleep were the norm for Shiro, nightmares he couldn’t remember once he was awake plagued him. He jolted awake from one such nightmare a few hours after closing his eyes and his breath caught in his throat when he saw a figure standing at the foot of his bed. It was too dark to see them clearly, but it was human shaped. He blinked, and the figure was gone. There was a pressure at the side of the bed and he jolted again, reaching quickly for the gun he kept under his pillow before he froze, soft fur rubbing against his arm.

“...Keith?” he questioned softly. A soft meow sounded and Shiro relaxed. He pulled his arm out from under his pillow and draped it over his stomach as Keith climbed onto his chest and sat.

“Hey baby...did I wake you up?”

Something about having Keith there was calming. It was a silly thought, but the feline seemed to understand Shiro’s distress and was trying to keep him company. A few quiet moments filled with the sound of their breathing passed before Keith leaned forward and reached out a paw to pat Shiro’s cheek. He leaned further forward and licked the tip of Shiro’s nose, meowed once more, nuzzled against Shiro’s face before climbing off of the man. Keith curled up next to Shiro, filling in the space that Shiro’s right arm should have been in.

Shiro fell asleep to the small warmth that Keith offered, breathing by his side.


	4. Shifting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always forget to say this but, if anyone sees any mistakes in grammar or spelling, please forgive me and feel free to point it out! I type the majority of the chapter on mobile and the keyboard on my phone likes to eat letters for some reason.
> 
> Also! mishydraws drew [the cutest art](http://mishydraws.tumblr.com/post/149660482840/some-illustrations-inspired-by-chapter-1-of-soft) from scenes in the first chapter of this story and it made me ridiculously happy! 
> 
> Enjoy the new update~!

“I thought I was dreaming.”

When Shiro stepped off the staircase, he heard Hunk speaking, worried. His brow furrowed, had something happened in the night? As he entered the dining room, nodding to Lance and Coran who stood closest to the entryway, he did a quick sweep of the room. And stopped at the map that had been spread across the bulletin board he kept for memos.

Someone had already gone through the trouble of printing a map and plotting the locations that children had been taken from and, with colored yarn, had also encircled the areas that had the most activity. Names and pictures had been attached with post-its and bits of tape.

“Did you guys do this while I was sleeping?” 

Confusion laced Shiro’s inquiry. Yes they were all enthusiastic about their job but they had all agreed to tackle it after some rest...they would have had to work through the night to compile all of this.

A murmur of unrest answered him.

“So you didn’t do it either Shiro?” Allura asked. Her tone immediately made Shiro stiffen.

“What do you mean?”

Allura shook her head and looked around warily, her hand straying to her side, where her gun was holstered.

“Hunk, explain.” She motioned for Lance to follow her as she drew her gun. Lance copied her and drew his gun as well, the two of them leaving the room cautiously. Shiro’s attention immediately switched to Hunk.

“I woke up sometime really early to get some water and I saw someone in this room. I thought I was just seeing things since when I turned the lights on, there was no one here. Just our files. So I went back to sleep.” Hunk pointed to the map. “When I got up to make breakfast, that was there, completed.”

There shouldn’t have been anyone else in the house. The windows were closed against the cold winter winds and the doors were all locked.

“It’s all clear upstairs and on this floor,” Allura reported as she stepped back in. A few tense minutes laters brought Lance back, Keith riding on his shoulders. 

“Basement and garage are all clear. Locked up and no signs of forced entry. The only thing I found was your cat.”

Pidge reached up to take Keith off of Lance’s shoulders with a frown. “It’d be logical to assume Hunk was seeing things due to lack of sleep, but that wouldn’t explain the map. If one of you is trying to play some kind of dumb prank, speak up now and I’ll consider not making you regret it.”

Keith meowed.

* * *

 

After that incident similar events kept happening in Shiro's home. Shirts he didn't remember wearing showing up in the hamper, books sitting open on the coffee table, cans of food for Keith emptied and in the recycle bin. Yet when he checked there were no signs of breaking and entering.

It was creepy.

But as off putting as it was...Shiro didn’t feel like it was a malicious person that was somehow getting into his home. As he explained to Pidge over lunch one day, nothing was stolen. The only things that ever went missing was Keith’s food. Which prompted a joke about a cat burglar from Shiro that made Lance groan and throw a bunched up paper napkin from the next table over.

“Seriously though Shiro. This doesn’t sound natural. If someone can get into your home so easily and we can’t figure out how, what’s to say they won’t bring others. They might not be so kind after a while.”

Pidge offered to help put in security cameras. Shiro couldn’t disagree fast enough. The idea of having cameras watching him within his own home felt alienating. There had to be another solution.

“Just think about it, you leave Keith at home by himself...maybe teach him to attack strangers or something.” Hunk suggested, leaning over. “Like, jump on them from a high shelf and just claw away.”

“I wouldn’t be able to bring guests over if Keith did that to every stranger Hunk.”

“Oh yea.”

Speaking of Keith, the kitten had gotten progressively better as the days passed. Shiro was as doting as a parent, always having new photos to show the team when they were all together. Keith accidentally falling into a sink full of dirty dishes. Looking disgruntled as he climbed out with scraps stuck to his fur. Keith swatting at a big bow Shiro had tied loosely to his tail. Keith getting tangled up in the ribbon and looking to Shiro for help (“You stood there and took pictures while he was crying for help?” “...yes?”)

Keith was a breath of fresh air after work everyday. Try as they might, the team wasn’t making progress on the case as fast as any of them would have liked. It was frustrating making calls back and forth, feeling like they were being led in circles. The leads they were looking for were right in front of their grasps but always just out of reach.

“We need fresh eyes,” Lance declared, leaning back in his seat one day. “We’ve been so focused on the evidence in front of us, we’re getting tunnel vision.”

“It’s a matter of utmost importance, we don’t have much leeway,” Coran responded from where he was beside Allura’s desk. “There’s a lot of pressure from the higher ups especially since they’ve been informed of Pidge’s findings. They want these unsubs caught and brought to justice.”

“Look I want them to be caught just as badly as anyone else on this case, but poring over these same documents day after day isn’t helping.”

Tensions were high in the office and they were all on edge. It would take just the simplest disagreement to set everything off and have people arguing. 

“Calm down. As long as we’ve got the information memorized it’ll make the next steps easier. Allura is working on getting us clearance to get more people in our department on the case so that we can start heading out to do interviews,” Shiro spoke up. He agreed with Lance though. It would have been easier if they could have just been given access to the resources they needed to head right out to do their jobs, but there were protocols to follow and they took time. Too much time sometimes, unfortunately.

“So that’s why Coran was in here instead of Allura,” Hunk commented. “How much longer do you think it’s going to take?”

“We should be heading out sometime tomorrow. Allura will message us the details as soon as she has confirmation.” Shiro glanced to the time before responding. “Make sure your go bags are ready so we can get off the ground as soon as possible. Debriefing will be on the jet.”

There was a chorus of affirmatives and the shuffle of gathering belongings and farewells passed quickly. Soon Shiro was the only one still seated, Coran nodding at him from the doorway, “Don’t stay too late”, and then he was alone.

It had been a week or two since he’d truly been alone. At home, Keith was always around. Sometimes the feline disappeared into some dark recess in the house while Shiro was occupied, but as soon as Shiro even thought of taking a break or switching tasks, he was back, twining his body around Shiro’s legs. It felt strange now as he murmured to himself, finishing up a last batch of paperwork. 

Since he’d brought the animal home Shiro had had to make changes to his usual lifestyle. Leaving the office at a decent time was at the top of that list. The thought of leaving Keith by himself in the house for longer than necessary just because Shiro happened to be a workaholic made guilt bubble in the man’s chest. (He still wasn’t sure what to do about Keith while he was away because of work. He needed to figure something out, especially if they were flying out tomorrow.)

He didn’t get much sleep as usual, but instead of being left to panic or dwell on dark thoughts, Keith would appear as if called and distract him, or just lay beside him. A constant warmth at Shiro’s side to keep the man grounded. 

Shiro was even eating better. He wasn’t a terrible cook, but most days he chose convenience over quality, and so he used to eat a lot of take-out and instant food. As Shiro found out, Keith made it a habit to steal some of his food every chance he got. Not wanting him to get sick from eating the wrong thing, Shiro made time to cook everyday. Something that both he and Keith could enjoy with no problem.

The difference that these changes made definitely showed. Hunk had brought food over one night with Lance and mentioned how Shiro seemed much more relaxed recently. 

"Guess the runt is good for something huh?" Lance had quipped. Keith had immediately bit the finger Lance had been dangling in front of him. Lance complained loudly until Hunk helped him bandage his finger, then Lance went right back to feeding small scraps to Keith. Shiro had laughed. They were right though. It felt good to be able to laugh like that. To be able to actually feel like himself again.  

A blip from his phone broke Shiro’s train of thought and he ran a hand down his face before checking the message. There was an all clear from Allura. The team would have a long day ahead of them tomorrow. Reaching across his desk, Shiro turned off his lamp. It was time for him to head home. 

* * *

 

Closing the front door gently, Shiro was surprised not to see Keith waiting for him in the front hall when he turned back around. Even when he was in a grumpy mood, the small feline was always there to stare at Shiro as he took his shoes off, unmoving, as if making sure he really was home.

“Keith? Baby? Where are you?”

Nothing.

Perhaps he was just hiding and waiting to pounce on him. Keith had taken to playing this strange game of hide and seek for the last two days. He’d squeeze into the smallest areas and pounce on Shiro’s feet as he walked by, small claws attaching to Shiro’s pant leg and getting dragged a couple feet before letting go and darting off to find another hiding place.

Walking around the first floor, no pouncing kittens to be found. A stop in the kitchen showed that Keith’s food was barely touched. There were fresh cans in the recycle. Shiro had noticed that Keith didn’t like the dry food much and he didn’t really have many cans left since he’d taken to cooking for the two of them...but Keith had still eaten a good portion of his dry food everyday. Hunk’s words came back to mind as Shiro’s hand moved to his holster, fingers curling around the familiar grip as he pulled his gun out to hold, inching towards the staircase.

He always left Keith at home alone.

And Pidge had had a point. What if this uninvited guest decided to stop being so kind one day?

The logical part of Shiro’s mind knew he was being paranoid, but some darker part, the part he didn’t like dwelling in, kept bringing up what ifs. 

Keith _ always _ came to greet him, no exceptions. 

As he stepped onto the landing, Shiro could see that his bedroom door was cracked open, a dim light spilling out across the darkened hallway. He couldn’t see any movement from where he was, and so he risked moving closer until he was up against the wall beside the door.

Reaching out, Shiro gently pushed the door wider, to keep it from making any sounds. He counted to three in his head before quickly throwing himself around the door frame, gun up. 

His eyes widened at the sight of a half-naked young man sleeping on his bed.

 


	5. Learning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haa...what was he going to do now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is much later than I had thought I would be posting it but I'll leave the explanation in the end notes.
> 
> I have more art to link in this chapter! mishydraws drew [another batch](http://mishydraws.tumblr.com/post/150379056423/another-batch-of-drawings-inspired-from-soft-purr) of drawings from the story~ Thank you so much!
> 
> There's also a drawing from [spacejasontodd](http://spacejasontodd.tumblr.com/post/150551549474/inspired-by-a-fic-by-we-are-ichu-also-you)!
> 
> If you guys draw art for this story I would love to see it! You can message me on tumblr or send me a link. You can also mention me in the post! (Unfortunately if you only tag me I won't see it since my personal tags seem to be broken? It never displays posts when I check it, haha)

The light that had spilled out across the hallway had come from the lamp on his bedside table, turned down to provide just enough light in the room. Feeling along the wall behind him, Shiro flicked on the overhead lights. The young man on his bed couldn’t have been that much older than Lance, if not the same age. He had on one of Shiro’s shirts and from what Shiro could tell, the shirt swallowed the man’s frame. He was either really small or incredibly thin. 

Lowering his gun stiffly, Shiro approached cautiously to shake the man awake, stepping back immediately when he saw him stir. Hands reached up to rub at eyes and a murmur too quiet to discern passed through the stranger’s lips before his eyes opened part way, only to quickly shut again in the brightness.

“Who are you?” Shiro questioned, his voice firm. He must have startled the young man. Shiro watched as the man shot up in the bed, eyes darting around the room before settling on him. He didn’t respond.

“I will ask again. Who. Are. You.”

A pink tongue darted out to wet dry lips and the stranger opened his mouth as if to respond. He uttered an “I” before stopping and closing his mouth, his brow furrowing. He caught his bottom lip between his teeth and gnawed at the skin as he stared at Shiro, his expression conflicted.

“Okay. How about we try it this way?” Shiro slowly put his gun away, making sure the young man could see that he was completely unarmed now. “I won’t hurt you or get angry. Just tell me what your name is and how you got into my house.”

The stranger sighed and cast his gaze downward, at the hem of his borrowed shirt, fidgeting at it with his fingers. His movements stilled before he looked up again, a sort of steely resolve in his gaze.

“I’m Keith.”

Shiro had to blink and process those two words for a moment. Keith? Really? His lips pursed. “Alright then. Keith. How did you get into my home?”

“You don’t believe me.”

Instead of answering Shiro’s question, Keith accused him. There was a downturn of his lips and Keith was scowling at Shiro now. He wasn’t happy with being thought of as a liar it seemed.

“...apologies,” Shiro started, “It’s hard for me to believe you when I’m sure you’ve seen my cat who I call by the same name.”

“My name is Keith,” he repeated, “and I...I live here. Since you brought me here.”

“Since I brought you here?” Shiro parroted the words Keith spoke and frowned himself. He had had a long day and tomorrow promised to be even longer. He didn’t have the energy to deal with this, but nonetheless, as his friends had come to expect of him, Shiro took it all in stride. 

“So you’re telling me that I brought you into my home and allowed you to live here?”

“...yes.” Keith fidgeted again, “...sort of...probably…”

Shiro shifted his weight back, rubbing at the stiff muscles in his neck. “Look….Keith. You’re going to have to elaborate. I’ve had a long day and I don’t really have time to play guessing games with you.”

Now that he could get a better look at him, Shiro could see that Keith really was thin. The collar of the shirt he was wearing had slipped to one side and Shiro could see Keith’s collarbone jutting out rather unhealthily. He didn’t look sick...he looked more like he was just beginning the process of recovering. There were dark circles under Keith’s eyes and his skin was pale, but there was a slight color to his face, faint, but there, to suggest that he was being taken care of at least.

Thin shoulders lifted and dropped again in a shrug. "I’m not sure how you want me to explain."

Keith was unnaturally still as he sat under Shiro’s scrutiny, his legs tucked under himself, his hands fisted tightly in his lap. His gaze was unwavering.

Shiro felt like he was being hit with deja vu.

“Start from...how exactly I brought you here.”

He couldn’t explain it. Though Keith’s expression did not change very much, Shiro could tell that there was fear lurking in the smallest quirk of the young man’s lips, apprehension in the way his eyes slid away from Shiro. The two of them were balancing on a very thin wire and Shiro had the distinct feeling that he’d just held up a pair of scissors to that wire and threatened to make Keith fall.

Once more Keith’s tongue darted out to wet his lips and he shifted on the bed, his shirt sliding up to reveal more of his pale skin. Shiro might have dropped his gaze at the motion but immediately forced himself to concentrate on Keith’s face. He couldn’t be wondering if he had clothes to give the young man to wear until after this confusion had been cleared up.

“...I had been hiding.” Keith started off slowly, halting to gather his thoughts and to put them into words.  “I… was hurt and I was hiding. It was dark and...I don’t remember much. When I woke up again you were there.” Keith reached up to his hair and seemed to be trying to smooth down the flyaway hairs there. 

“You told me that...you were trying to help me.”

Keith’s story made sense only insofar that those were the events that had happened with the  _ kitten _ Shiro had brought home. But unless Keith, this young man, had been there, he shouldn’t have known what Shiro had actually said.

“You said you wouldn’t abandon me.”

Shiro  _ had _ said that. But to the small bundle of fur he had been holding at the time, not this young man, not… If there were ever a time that Shiro had felt stupid while having a conversation with someone, this encounter definitely belonged at the top of the list. Keith had been dropping hints the entire conversation and Shiro had already noted the familiarity that fell in waves off of the other man. He’d seen a lot of strange things in his line of work. It wasn’t entirely...out of the question. Farfetch’d and something out of a fantasy or sci-fi movie but…

“Keith. What are you hiding with your hands?”

Shiro had assumed Keith was just smoothing down his hair out of a nervous habit. But Keith had kept his hands in his hair. That wasn’t what he’d been doing. Shiro moved closer and Keith backpedaled, flopping back onto the bedspread. This made Shiro freeze again and hold his hands up.

“You know I won’t hurt you. So show me, please.”

Averting his eyes as he pushed himself back into a kneeling position, Keith dropped his hands. What Shiro had assumed were tufts of hair sprung back up from where Keith had been pressing them down. He stepped forward again, slowly once more, gauging Keith’s expression as he did so.

Ears.

Fluffy cat ears.

Shiro glanced again to Keith’s expression, questioning, seeking permission. Keith averted his eyes and grunted, tensing when Shiro’s fingers passed over his ears, softly brushing the fur. Like when they first met, Keith slowly relaxed under Shiro’s ministrations.

This was a lot to take in. It was one thing to have welcomed a cat into his home. A cat he could take care of, fumbling through as he had, but another person. Shiro didn’t know if he could do that. And there was also the matter of where Keith had come from and how he had ended up in the condition he had been in. All beat up and half-dead. Not to mention  _ how and why he could turn into a cat. _

Also what if there were missing persons reports for him? Shiro worked for the law he couldn’t just be housing an unknown person like this. Maybe he’d ask Pidge to look into missing persons reports from around the area for him. Find where Keith lived. Go check out the place himself…

Shiro slumped and fell onto his bedspread, startling Keith back. He was so tired with the stress of this new case and of having spent the last few days worrying over his uninvited gue- well not really uninvited guest. He just needed a moment. A minute. Just some time to relax. He’d get back up soon, figure out what to do with Keith. Figure out what to do with the case. Just-

He moaned at the pressure that dug into his back.

Turning his head, Shiro looked up at Keith. The young man had shifted closer again, his hands and fingers dancing over Shiro’s back, kneading at the muscles. A long sigh left Shiro as he relaxed.

“What am I going to do with you Keith…?” he murmured.

“I was hoping...you’d let me stay?”

Shiro groaned and turned his head back into the bedspread. His heart wanted to. Hell, even his mind wanted him to let Keith stay. Yes he’d thought of the other as a pet for the duration of the last weeks, but Keith had been more than a pet. He had been a companion.  A comfort when Shuro had least expected it, and a warm presence by his side. But his gut told him that nothing good could come of letting this stranger stay. And his gut feelings had salvaged more than one case for his team.

"If...if I said you couldn’t stay...what would you do?" 

There was a sharp inhale of air and the hands on his back stalled. Shiro couldn’t bring himself to look up. To gauge the other’s expression. 

"I can fend for myself. It’s what I’ve been doing since before."

The words were stiff and spat out. There was no heart behind them. And that’s what convinced Shiro. He remembered that fight in those violet eyes when he had first found Keith, he wouldn’t let that light die. 

Heaving himself up off the bed, Shiro rolled his shoulders as he moved to his dresser. He dropped to his knees, ignoring the stare burning into his back, and rummaged through the second to last drawer. 

"These might be a bit big but they’ll have to do until I can get you clothes that properly fit."

Shiro turned as he tossed a pair of old basketball shorts in Keith’s direction, catching the wide eyed look of surprise on his face before the shorts landed on his head.

The bewilderment that was painted on Keith’s face brought loud laughter to Shiro’s lips.

"You can’t walk around half naked in the house. I’d tell you it’s fine if it’s just the two of us since I want you to be comfortable, but my team doesn’t always let me know when they want to pop in." 

"Oh." 

Keith pulled the shorts from his head and scrutinized them, turning the material around in his hands a few times. Maybe he didn’t want to wear Shiro’s old things? The investigator had thought it would be fine since Keith had been wearing his shirts but-

"I have some newer clothes if you want to wear those instead?"

The cat ears on the sides of Keith’s head shot up in alarm at his words and the young man looked up, shaking his head no soon after.

“These are fine just…”

Keith pulled his lips into a grimace, twisting his upper body to glance behind him. A thin hand reached behind his back and Keith pulled a sleek tail into view, the black fur matching the color of his hair.

“...it’s not that I like walking around half naked…”

The flush of red that covered Keith’s face as he turned his head away, puffing out his cheeks in embarrassment, made Shiro’s own cheeks tint pink. How cute. 

“We can cut out a hole for your tail, but we’ll have to figure something out when we buy you other clothes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of trouble writing this chapter actually. Everyone was so hyped for it and it came up a lot sooner than I had originally planned. I kept getting stuck and worrying that it wasn't good enough. That it just wasn't enough. And then irl stuff got in the way and before I knew it a whole month had passed since my last update. OTL
> 
> In the end I went with what felt most natural to me and hoped that it would work out. (I might have also gotten some enthusiasm back from my time at NYCC. I missed the panel unfortunately but I made it to the signing :'D)
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Thanks for reading~

**Author's Note:**

> If anybody wants to talk with me you can find me @ tumblr (we-are-ichu) or twitter (runawithagun)! If you just wanna scream about Sheith or cute headcanons or anything I'm always up for that! :D


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